One Year Later
by Dragon Scar
Summary: Last year it was to save Empire Records from becoming a Music Town. But now its saving Empire Records from going to the dogs
1. part 1

Empire Records   
  
"My life is screwed. Why do I even try to pretend that this is that life that I make it out to be?" Deb thought staring into the mirror. She had just shaved her head for the third time. This time was different, there was more too it. Her mother had finally got in contact with her after more then six years.   
  
Her mother, Mary, had told her flat out 'Deb you're a screw up. I wish you were never born. Your father didn't have sex with me cause I wanted it, but because he raped me. So you were going to be aborted but you can thank your grandparents for not letting me kill you when I had the chance. Oh you have a sister who's about 18.'  
  
Deb walked out of the Empire Records bathroom to find Lucas on the leper print sofa and Burco was at the table tuning his guitar.   
  
"Deb, please tell us what's wrong," Her ex-boyfriend, said leaving his guitar on the table and going over to Deb.  
  
"Theirs nothing to tell the likes of you. I have to get to work." She said pushing past him.  
  
"Lucas I'm getting really worried about her. I don't know what to do."  
  
"The answer lies beyond what you can see." The man on the couch said.  
  
"When will you go back to talking normally?" He asked.  
  
"The answer is not when but how."  
  
"You're a screw job."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Alex, the newest member to the Empire Records family, was at the counter when she saw Deb. "Something else happened didn't it?"  
  
"No I wanted to shave my head."  
  
"Deb, you need to get some help." Alex said.  
  
"What's with you? You're the one whering long sleeves."  
  
"I have my reason." Alex bit her lip after that to hold back the tears.   
  
"Hello Ladies." Warren said walking into the story.   
  
"Warren you don't work today."  
  
"I'm covering for Mark." He explains.  
  
"Damn." The two said in unison. If it weren't for the fact that the Alex and Deb were friends they would be trying to kill the other for 'copying the style.' Alex was a Senor at the local high school and Deb was going to graduate college at the end of the next semester. It had been a year since Joe had bought the Empire.  
  
Alex's phone rang. "Empire Records open till midnight…. Midnight." She looked at the phone disgustedly before she hung up. "Is it just me or do people get dumber and dumber each day?"  
  
"They get dumber and dumber." Deb replied.   
  
"Alex your on shelves." Gina said taking over.   
  
"Thanks." Alex moved some hair out of her face causing her sleeve to fall a bit showing some fresh cuts. Her life was full of shame that none of the Empire Record 'family' could understand.   
  
"I see were back to boot camp for Deb." Gina said to Deb in a joking matter. "As I said the day the Empire almost fell, you get smarter the shorter your hair is, I guess it's a good thing you went with that look."  
  
"You get smarter the shorter your skirt gets."  
  
"You two never let each other's flaws die will you?" Mark said. Walking by with a box of new Creed CDs.   
  
"Nope." Gina said.  
  
"Those the new CD's from Wind Up records?"  
  
"Yeah." Mark said to Dub. "Its some band called Creed."  
  
"I heard of them. I love them, I have a CD from one of their shows." Alex said looking at one of the CD covers. "Their one of them is the hottest thing to ever walk this planet." She started to go into her dreamy dazes.  
  
"Alexandria, come back to reality."  
  
"Do I have to?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Everyone get back to work." Joe screamed from his office.   
  
"Give a man some power and he'll never be the same."  
  
"Damn the man." Was heard from the sofa. 


	2. part 2

"Lucas is in for it if he keeps going to Atlantic City and blowing the money."  
  
"If he keeps it up were doomed."Gina joked.   
  
Alex walked into the back room. She looked into her locker and asked her sofa bond friend, "Lucas where's my CD case?"   
  
"I put it into the draw cause we had a small issue before." She went into the draw and grabbed it.   
  
"Thanks." Alex walked out of the room.  
  
"Joe, I need to talk to you."  
  
"What is it? Do you know how to get my money?"  
  
"I think we have another problem."  
  
"What can be more important?"  
  
"I think Alex and Deb are in some of trouble."   
  
"Like what?"  
  
"I don't know but Deb's shaved her head again and something is up with Alex. Her wrists have some cuts on them. I don't know what's wrong with her."  
  
"I'll go talk to them." Joe walked out of the room then stuck his head back in, "NO LEAVING THE SOFA!!!!!!!"   
  
Joe walked in to the store to the sounds of Bad Reputation blaring, while Gina was on the Mike saying "This goes out to those bad girls of Empire Records, Alex and Deb."   
  
"Gina where Alex?" Joe asked her.  
  
"I think she's on brake. So check the roof or the Creed box." She said handling one of the costumers. "What's wrong?"  
  
"I'll tell you later." He said while looking in the boxes. He found that she was on the roof. She was in one of the back corners where she would always sit when she was doing working on paper work or just taking five. She was sitting with her laptop open and her headphones on. "Alex." He sat down next to her.   
  
She took off her headphones. "What is it Joe? I'm almost done with this budget form."  
  
"What's wrong?" He asked.   
  
"Nothings wrong. I just have some issues." She said with out taking her eyes from the laptop.   
  
"Alex look at me. I know what you're going through. I've dealed with this before."  
  
"Do you know how hard it is to be so different that there is only one person who will even look at you with respect. Even then he doesn't even like you due too a stupid rumor saying that you were everything you hated and that you were going to kill someone that you cared about. They thought that I would kill my... well at that time boyfriend and the jocks at my school. He thought it was the truth. Do you know what that feels like?"  
  
"I can't say I do, I know that it's hard to fit in." he tried to sympathize with her. Although, he knew part of what she was going through because of Deb.   
  
"Just stay out of it. It's too far out of anyone's hands. It could have stopped but then I got into a fight with a jock. Hence why I was suspended for a month. Do you know why I got into a fight."  
  
"Alex, it doesn't matter why you got into a fight. All that matters is that you are here and it couldn't get any worse then it has gotten in the past. You told me that when I gave you a job." He said. 


	3. part 3

While Joe talked to Alex, Gina and Deb were down at the counter. "hey guys have you seen Alex?"  
  
"She seemed really distanced, Poseidon. What's with her she slit her writ last night." Gina said. Her skirts have gotten shorter and she had started to go out with guys besides sleeping with them. Deb and Burco got back together.   
  
Alex walked in and started to take stock. She tried not to pay attention to Poseidon who was standing there. Joe walked out with a disappointed look on his face. The Empire Records "Family" knew something was wrong. One by one they went up to Joe to ask him what was wrong.   
  
"Alex, we need to talk." Poseidon asked her, they both knew what was going on and they wanted to have the truth exposed between each other.  
  
"What's left to say, you went with those stupid lies. I don't blame you for braking everything I had. In your eyes I must not count. Could you not wreck my senior year anymore. Now I'm the only girl in school with out friends that I can turn to, or a boyfriend to spend my time off time with. " Alex ranted. "If you excuse me I have to get back to work."  
  
"Alex I hope you release that I love you!"  
  
"Actions speak way loader then words." She calmly said.  
  
"I'll make it up to you. Alex I LOVE YOU!" Poseidon pleaded. He relaxed that the love of his natural life.   
  
"Prove it to me. Figure out away that we can be together."  
  
"Fine." He walked over to her and took her into a long passionate kiss. She pushed him away and walked off with something that was unexplainable in her eyes. The two of them knew what it was, neither one would settle for something unless the other wanted it the same way.   
  
"Love can be a tuff thing." Lukas said, he was holding his partner in crime, the sofa cushion.   
  
"How do I get her back. I made a mistake. I don't know how I can make it up to her. I've always cared about her. Since that moment I first saw her. She's everything in I ever wanted."  
  
"You have to find the one thing she loves then use it to your advantage."  
  
"She really loves home made dinners with candle light."  
  
"Why don't you make her dinner tonight? Using the storage room, I think we still have the white candles from Save the Empire Day."  
  
"Can I use them?"  
  
"Sure, but there will come a time when I need something of you."  
  
"I'm not dishing out 6 grand Lucas." He said.  
  
"Damn. But the candles are in my locker."  
  
"Thanks." He went off to do his bidding to get Alex back. 


	4. part 4

Deb was trying to do the taxes. It seems that whenever someone is messed up in this great empire they do paper work. It seems that it is the only effective way to forget the trouble of their worlds and to get some real work done. She was sitting in the empty music box with all the paper work that needs to get done.  
  
Joe knocked on the door to get her attention. Deb waved him in. "Are you okay?" he asked.   
  
"The worlds just coming down on me a bit much this week."  
  
"Don't do anything crazy."  
  
"Don't worry I don't want to die." Deb assured him. "If anything I just want to sit alone and think."   
  
"I think you'll be one of the only ones that can do what I'm about to ask you." Joe said to her.  
  
"What? Dose it has to do with our newest member."  
  
"What about Alex?" She was almost concerned like an older sister would be.  
  
"Her boyfriend, Poseidon, broke up with her, she found out her family left her at the church where, it took her 18 years to find out that she had a sister, who is just as screwed up as she is. She doesn't want to screw up her semi-friendship with her." Joe explained.  
  
"Did she say who her sister was?"  
  
"She said, she didn't want me to get involved with this."  
  
"I'll go find her."  
  
"Thanks." Joe said.  
  
While Deb was in her music box, Joe was doing his rounds and who knows what the rest of the gang was doing, Lucas was sitting on the couch while Alex was double checking her budget paper work.  
  
"What is this? $1,500 to the bank... $11,300 to the closing cost in the bank. Lucas what dose this mean. "I'm sorry to inform you that the people of World Bank have denied your request for a $100,000 loan for the purpose of 'saving the Empire from the evil commercial use of music.'"  
  
"Let me see that." He said taking the sheets of paper.   
  
"It's been a few years digging into dept. But why weren't we told about this." Alex asked.   
  
"Joe get in here." Lucas screamed out into the store.  
  
"What is it?" Joe asked.   
  
"You have a lot to explain some stuff to us." Alex tossed the papers to him.   
  
"Where did you get this," He asked looking over the paper work.  
  
"I found it while going over the paper work." She said. "Adding this into the states that puts us so far under the bar. How are we going to dig ourselves out?"  
  
"We're not. I have to do this myself." Joe said.  
  
"I thought no one in this empire works alone." She said walking out. 


	5. part 5

"Its Five o' clock you know what that means.... It's happy hour. For the next 30 people to hit the check out lane get a special 10% discount." Gina said on the load speaker. "Alex your needed in the back room."  
  
"Got it." She said grabbing the clipboard. "This better be quick I have to take off soon."  
  
"What do you think it is." Gina asked Warren who was now on register.   
  
"I don't know but Poseidon has been using that room trying to make it kinda like Corey did for Rex."  
  
"From what I heard they got into a really BIG fight." He said putting on The Whitney Houstoen he stole last year.  
  
"You are one messed up kid."   
  
"What do you expect ? I work here."  
  
Alex walked into the storage room to see a table set for two with about a dozen roses in the middle of the table with one stray rose on one of the plates. The only thing that made the table settings lose its effect, azure plastic plates with wine glasses filled with Surge, her favorite soda. "What the heck."   
  
"I hope you like." Poseidon said pressing play on a CD player. Satellite by Dave Matthews Band started playing.  
  
"You know I can't leave when that songs on." She pleaded.   
  
"Just sit down and have dinner with me."   
  
"Cye stop this, please." Alex was at her braking point. All the stress that was on her was about to start making it hard to do the normal time.   
  
"Alex what's wrong? I'm sorry please tell me."  
  
"Everything is wrong." Alex's blue gray eyes were turning into a deep gray. "My life is so screwed up no one can ever fix it."  
  
"Calm down." He said putting his arm around her. "It will alright."  
  
"NO IT WON'T NOTHING IS ALRIGHT, THERE IS NO WAY FOR ANYTHING TO BECOME ALRIGHT." She stormed out of the room. Leaving Poseidon standing left in the room holding one of the roses.   
  
Alex ran past Lucas, who still was on the coach, and Warren who was taking 5 and trying to get the quarters off the floor. "What's with her?" Warren asked.  
  
"Young Warren, what is wrong with any one." Lucas stated. Whenever Lucas was in some sort of deep shit, he started to talk like the old Chinese guy from the Karate Kid. Maybe it was his way of dealing or maybe it was just some thing did to piss off his coworkers/friends.  
  
"You really have to stop going to Atlantic City." Warren said. "I got one off it took me a whole year but I did it." He got a quarter off the floor. The year before A.J. had glued down the slot machine winnings.   
  
"You really need a life." Side said walking out of the room. "Where's Alex?"  
  
"Try the roof." Everyone said.   
  
"I should have tried that." He said walking up to the roof. "Alex are you up here?"  
  
"Just turn around and walk away." Dub said.  
  
"Deb, I need to talk to Alex."  
  
"She doesn't want to hear you boil shit. She just needs to talk to someone who knows what's going on."  
  
"Please tell her I'm sorry. I started to listen to those air head ass holes I called friends." He said.  
  
"It was more then just you and her braking up. It was more like her mother and her meet, she was told she had a sister and found out who it was and isn't telling anyone but me."  
  
"Why you?"  
  
"Because, she trusts me. Just go away so i can talk to her."  
  
"Fine." He left the roof.   
  
"Alex," She said while walking over to her. "You can tell me now who's your sister."  
  
Side walked down stairs and fell next to Lucas on the sofa. "She hates me."  
  
"Now you have to explain what you did."  
  
"There was this thing going round the school saying that she would kill me and some people in the school. My friends heard it before I did. They told me a different story convincing me to brake up with her. I was blined by what they were saying." He said.  
  
"We've all been through this before." Burco said.  
  
"Burco, pass me the pad and pen." Side said.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I'm going to write Alex a song." He said.  
  
"Romeo, goes easy on Juliet." Lucas stated.  
  
"I will." Side said walking out into the store.  
  
About an hour later  
  
"Burco listen to this." He took his old accoustic gittar.   
  
"Just play."  
  
"Ever since the first night, i knew we were meant to be. I never could have seen all that we've seen. If it wasn't for your smile, I wouldn't have tried to get to know you. But I'm glad you walk through those golden doors on that cold November night. My heart was stolen by you and I'm glade it was. Your still the only one I love. My juidgment was wrong my eyes were shaded with the shame of knowing you would leave me. I didn't want to brake your heart, I just wanted to be sure that you didn't harm me. I listened to my friends and that was the only thing that was needed to brake your heart. My purpose was ripped from my life." Side sang. He really loved her, he wanted to undo what had happened.  
  
"That's great."  
  
"I hope she likes it. I really love her. I don't want her to be sad."  
  
"I love it." A voice rang from the door. Side and Burco turned to see Alex at the door with Deb.  
  
"So will you forgive me?"  
  
"Sure." Alex walked over to Side and gave him a hug. "I love you."  
  
"I love you too." The two of them started to kiss passionetly.   
  
"Deb what is it?" Burco asked.  
  
"I found my sister… well she found me." Deb said in a surreal calm voice. "She's just as screwed up as I am."   
  
"Is that bad?" Burco asked. Coming from Deb you couldn't tell if she liked the fact that her sister was as screwed up as she was or the fact that Deb has some sort of family.  
  
"No, I guess it runs in the family." 


	6. part 6

Joe was in the back room trying to figure out where Alex had found that paper work about the bank. He knew Alex had was really good in math but finding things that he had hidden was a new thing. He had been trying to dig himself out of dept for a while now. With Corey and AJ gone he has to become more responcible and able to think of ways out of these situations. Joe was digging himself into his own grave.  
  
"Joe, can I ask you something." Alex said walking in.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"How long have you guys been digging your selves into this hole?"  
  
"About two years." He said.  
  
"Why haven't you told us of this?"  
  
"Because I've been trying everything to get out."  
  
"Then you should try something else." She said.   
  
"Like what?"  
  
"I don't know maybe something that has music…" a gun shot was heard. "What was that?"  
  
"It was out front." The two of them ran out of the office to see the rest of the people around the door. "What's going on?"  
  
"Someone's shotting up the place." Gina said.  
  
"That's Oz." Alex said while in a state of shock.  
  
"You know him?"  
  
"Yeah we were friends back in the pen." She explained.   
  
"I'm going out there. Gina call 911" Joe said walking outside. "Why are you shotting up the place?" he asked Oz.  
  
"Because the one person I could care about works here and I just want to kill her for all the heart brake she put me through."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Alexandria."   
  
"Oz," Alex said walking out of the back room. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
"Alex, you said that you would stay with me and wait till we both got out to leave the state, but then you left and came here."  
  
"I did that cause I had too. The pen made me get up and leave on my 18th birthday. Since I was getting attached they put me on a train and told me to get off when I hit New York and to never go back."   
  
"Why didn't you call or write."  
  
"I did." She slowly walked over to him. "They said you were studying each time I called. Then they said you were removed." She took his gun in her hand. "I'm sorry for your pain."  
  
"Sorry isn't good enough. Alex you promised you would get me out of there." Alex passed the gun to Joe and gave Oz a hug. "Oz, I haven't stopped thinking of you, Xander and Dawn since I left."   
  
"Why would they?"  
  
"Shh… don't worry." Alex whispered.  
  
"Since when did Alex have a softer side?" Burco asked Eddie.  
  
"I don't know." At this time the police got here.   
  
"Is this who you were talking about?" on officer asked pointing to Oz.  
  
"That's him."  
  
"Oz, just be careful." Alex said.  
  
"Don't drop the soap." Mark said. Once the feds left everyone clamed down.   
  
"Mark what are you doing here, its your day off."  
  
"Come one would I miss this?"  
  
"Good point."  
  
"Joe you should tell them." Alex told Joe.  
  
"Guys sit down." He explained everything about the money situation. "So we need $18,000 to clean everything up."  
  
"Didn't we get more then that." We all knew what was going to happen.  
  
"Mark you know what to do." Joe said.  
  
"Right."   
  
"What's this one called?"  
  
"Damn the man. Save the Empire."   
  
"Lets get to work." 


End file.
